Mobile Marketing For Small Business. How Mobile Marketing Can Increase Your Profits And Benefit Your Small Business Overall

Transcription

1 Mobile Marketing For Small Business How Mobile Marketing Can Increase Your Profits And Benefit Your Small Business Overall

2 INTRODUCTION Thank you for subscribing and here is the promised report on mobile marketing and how it can help boost your advertising and marketing efforts. In this report you will find the reasons why bringing your marketing strategies into the mobile world can enable you to have a wider reach and raise awareness of your brand. You will also discover the various aspects of mobile marketing, how they are used and which are best suited for a small business or for an entrepreneur who is still learning the ropes in this marketing strategy. So read on and find out how mobile marketing can ultimately benefit you and enhance other marketing strategies you are already using. CHAPTER 1 WHY MOBILE ADVERTISING? Most business owners have now caught up with the times and recognized the importance of having an online presence. If you re one of these savvy entrepreneurs then most likely you already have a website set up for your business. However if you want a solid online presence, then you need to do things the right way. Setting up a website is not enough to make an impressive mark in the virtual world we all know as the ubiquitous Internet. You need something more, something that can enable you to have a wider reach and be in contact with more people. You need to have a mobile-friendly version of your website. You might have already heard or read from various sources that you need to adopt mobile marketing but you might still be wondering why. Why is it such a big deal for you as a business owner? Why should you go to the trouble of having another website set up when you already have a regular one? Why indeed Mobile Marketing For Small Business 2

3 Mobile Marketing Can Increase Your Profits And Benefit Your Business Overall. According to a Web.com survey, 3.84% of small businesses that use mobile marketing see increase in their business activity. Five hundred (500) small business owners were surveyed and 70 of them employ mobile marketing strategies. Of these 70 small businesses, 84% indicated that they ve seen an increase in their new business activity caused by their efforts in mobile marketing. This survey result is already a good reason to integrate mobile marketing into your business s marketing efforts. Another reason is the fact that the global use of mobile phones is on a steady increase. In the United States alone, there are about 234 million Americans who own mobile phones and more than 80 million of them are using Smartphones. This number is still expected to increase because of the fast way mobile technology turns over and the costs of these gadgets are getting cheaper. Mobile technology is steadily becoming simpler meaning that more people are finding it easy and comfortable to use Smartphones. Users of this device now range from 18 and below to 65 and above age groups. The result: consumers are becoming more open to mobile commerce and more willing to act on offers from mobile ads. So as you can see, a greater percentage of the businesses that have used mobile marketing saw increase in their business activity and the number of mobile phone users, particularly users of Smartphones, are continuously increasing. If you need more reasons why you should adopt mobile marketing for your business, take a look at the result of a study conducted by Google [1] : As Smartphone ownership rises, more and more people are also accessing the web though their mobile phones. Consumers constantly use their Smartphones while browsing online at home, at work, on the go, while in a store and everywhere else. Consumers turn to their Smartphones to search for local information then they take action. After looking for local information, 1 in 5 users make a purchase. At least 50% of mobile shoppers buy monthly on their Smartphones. Smartphones tend to influence the purchase decisions of consumers. Mobile Marketing For Small Business 3

4 Research done through a Smartphone tends to lead to a purchase either online or in-store. This Google study result shows that people like the convenience mobile phones offer and they are rapidly adapting to the mobile marketplace. Smartphones have practically become consumers primary shopping companions. Smartphone users tend to go online to read the reviews before buying a product they are considering. Statistics show that 54% of women and 67% of men stated that they would rather consult their mobile phone than ask a salesperson for assistance when at a store. Smartphones are convenient for comparing prices, searching for product information and finding a local retailer, this is according to 79% of Smartphone users. Take a look at the table below to get an idea of typical mobile user behavior when in the store [2] : In-store Smartphone User Behaviour 33% Take pictures 32% Compare prices 27% Read product reviews online 26% Scan a barcode 23% Look for coupons or use a coupon 20% Use the store app 11% Purchase and pay at the register As you can see, the least percentage is of those who make in-store purchases. If it s your store, you can increase your sales by offering coupons. Mobile Marketing For Small Business 4

5 Since consumers tend to compare prices in search of a better deal, making your business available in mobile searches can increase the chance that your product gets appraised. When a consumer likes what you offer, she ll likely make her purchase from you. CHAPTER 2 WHAT IS MOBILE MARKETING After the WHY, now we go to the WHAT. What exactly is mobile marketing? By definition, mobile marketing is communicating with your consumers using a mobile device to do any or all of the following: Send a simple marketing message Introduce consumers to a new audience participation-based campaign Allow consumers to visit your mobile website Mobile marketing is many-faceted but far from making it a complicated marketing avenue, it is actually one of the best ways to merge various marketing strategies. We will talk more about this later. The Aspects Of Mobile Marketing SMS/MMS SMS stands for Short Message Service and it s also commonly referred to as 'Text Messaging'. It s text only and lets you send messages that are no more than 160 characters. MMS on the other hand stands for Multimedia Message Service which can include audio, video, and pictures and up to 1000 characters of text. SMS have a higher open rate than s. In fact, recipients open 95% of text messages within 5 minutes of receiving them. Compare that to s that only have an open-rate of just 5%. This is a huge indicator of trust, SMS recipients tend to trust their senders because the SPAM rate for text messages is below 10%. In other words, out of 10 text messages, only 1 is considered unsolicited. Mobile Marketing For Small Business 5

6 As a business owner, you can use SMS marketing in 2 ways: 1. Direct marketing where you send a text message directly to yourmobile subscriber list, making compelling offers to drive them to purchase. 2. Used to enhance other form of marketing you are already doing. SMS marketing can enhance other advertising methods in two ways: (a) connect typical mass-advertising mediums like TV, radio and print with your mobile friendly website, social media accounts or apps, and (b) allows you to build very detailed customer profiles. We will cover more about using SMS and MMS marketing in practice later on. Mobile Websites A mobile website is a website optimized for the small screen-size of a mobile phone. When a consumer uses his Smartphone to search for local information and came upon your website which is not optimized for the small-screen, he will most likely leave. In the image below, you ll see the regular website of CBS and how it appears when browsed on a desktop. The red frame shows what a Smartphone user sees if CBS did not have a mobile-friendly website. Mobile Marketing For Small Business 6

7 As you can see, mobile users see only a small portion of the site and will have great difficulty navigating it to see desired information. This will result to a bad user-experience which is why a lot of established companies have a mobile-friendly version of their website. In the following image, you see CBS s mobile website: If you observe CBS s mobile website, the menu is simpler and placed on top. The search box is also in a prominent spot which allows people on the go to search for news and information they are looking for. A search box is a convenient way for people to get to the information they want fast and easy, especially if the site they are on is a complex one, like CBS s. The most popular news reports are also made readily accessible, perfect for busy people who are trying to keep up with current news. The home page is clean and smart looking, making it very easy for users to navigate through the site and go where they want. Coupons Perhaps you ve heard that coupons don t work? That is however only true for print coupons, with mobile coupons, it s a different matter. You see printed coupons, the ones you cut from newspapers and magazines, are very difficult to track. And because of that, it s hard to figure out which coupon works well if you re splittesting so it s almost impossible to tell if coupons are actually good for your business. With mobile marketing however, you can easily do some split testing where you test which type of coupon is preferred by your prospects. Split testing coupons involve sending one coupon to a small segment of your mobile subscriber list and another coupon to another segment. Then you observe which coupon works better and then send that to the rest of your mobile subscriber list. With the ease brought by online technology, you can keep on testing and refining coupons to better increase your conversions. Mobile Marketing For Small Business 7

8 Mobile coupons are highly measurable, allowing you to precisely track which coupons were redeemed, by whom and when it was redeemed. You can even see what other items were bought when they used the coupon. Quick-Response (QR) Codes QR codes are like barcodes but instead of a bunch of parallel lines, the codes are 2-dimensional like with the image on the right. When the QR code is scanned by a phone camera, the user is then redirected to a target URL. Essentially, the QR code eliminates the need to enter lengthy website addresses which is a hassle with mobile Internet browsing. You can use QR codes to direct a user to almost any online destination such as: to a website, a social networking site like Facebook or Twitter, to a Google Map location, an App Store download, a video, an article, an address or message, a text message, your contact details, a buy now link or a coupon. This will only work if the Smartphone user has installed a QR-reader app. The only problem with QR codes is that there are ways for hackers and spammers to spread malware through the codes. If this information is spread by the media, then more people won t be too keen on using QR codes. If you decide to use a QR code in your mobile marketing, use managed QR codes that allow you to track and analyze how often a code is scanned. Also, tracking QR codes that redirect users to different destinations lets you do some easy split testing to know what offers are best preferred by your target market. Mobile Apps Mobile apps are NOT really recommended for small businesses. There are a number of reasons but the most important one is the lack of visibility. Nobody will find your app, unless they are specifically looking for it. And if your app is found, what s the chance that it ll be opened more than twice? Mobile Marketing For Small Business 8

9 Mobile apps that get opened repeatedly are those that have functions most users really need like a weather forecast app for example. You can successfully launch an app only IF your business has a solid social media presence where you have a strong following. But for small businesses, investing time and resources for something that requires a long-term strategy that may not even work is simply not justifiable. CHAPTER 3 MOBILE MARKETING AND HOW TO DO IT Now we ve reached the part where you learn how to use the various mobile tools in marketing your business. SMS Marketing As already stated, you can use SMS marketing in two ways: (1) direct marketing and (2) enhancing your other marketing and advertising strategies. Direct Marketing For direct marketing, you need to first build a list of people who are interested in getting SMS from you (pretty much like building a list for your newsletter), and second, send targeted text messages to that list. Because people trust SMS senders more than senders, and they have high open rate, SMS-based marketing is more advantageous than other forms of marketing. Now you might be wondering how you can build a list of prospects. The technical part of this list building is quite simple you either get your prospects to give you their cell number or you use short codes and keywords. A short code is a 5-6 digit phone number that you get from the carriers where your prospects can send a short keyword. Mobile Marketing For Small Business 9

10 An example of using short codes and keywords in SMS marketing is shown on the image [3] on the left. The short code is and the keyword is Joes. When the user typed the keyword and sent it to the short code, he received the business s (Joe s Pizza s) marketing SMS. The sender receives a preferred membership and a 20% discount on his next order. The business owner on the other hand received the mobile number of the sender and now has it on the database as part of their growing list of prospects. With short codes, Smartphone owners are not the only ones who can use them, but practically anyone with an SMS capable mobile phone. Most businesses don t own a unique short code but share it with other small businesses. The keyword is the only thing unique to each business. Also, short codes are only rented. If the carrier decides that a small business s use of the short code is unethical, their keyword is terminated and they can no longer send SMS to their list. You may be wondering, how do you let people know of your business s short code and keyword? Well you can easily integrate your short codes and keywords with other advertising strategies you are already doing. For example, you have newspaper ads or TV or radio ads, you can include your short codes in there. If you re doing online advertising, you can use your social media presence to let people know of the short code. Enhancing Other Forms of Advertising There are two ways you can use SMS marketing to enhance other form of marketing: 1. Text for information 2. Text to join When you let users Text For Information, you are letting them have a look at what you are offering without them having to give you their contact details. Giving prospects good, solid information without asking for anything in return is a good way to hook them. When they re satisfied, they will initiate the move and give you their contact details. The text for information aspect is a really good way to start conversations with potential customers, enhance your traditional marketing and advertising methods like broadcast and Mobile Marketing For Small Business 10

11 print advertising. It s also a great way to attract fans to your social media network, ask for a feedback and a lot other options to create a first point of contact. The Text To Join approach is best for getting customers to join your list so that you can keep sending marketing text messages and increase repeat-sales. Building a list also lets you create customer profiles which will allow you to send specific targeted offers to the appropriate members of your list. As you progress, you will be able to know what your customers want and so you ll be sending them only offers they will likely respond to. MMS Marketing Since MMS supports a wide range of media (pictures, slide shows, video, audio), you can use whatever useful content you already have in your MMS marketing. Or, you can also create good content to send to your list relatively fast and easy. MMS is best used in the soft part of your marketing where you utilize this type of messaging to create brand awareness, evoke feelings and brand loyalty. You can do this by telling a story that your prospects can connect with. Whatever you come up with, it should be information that is not shared anywhere else. People like it when they are part of something exclusive, like maybe a VIP Club or a Preferred Members Club. The only problem is, MMS only works on Smartphones so traditional phone users are excluded. It s best to stick with SMS marketing for the time being. Once you ve identified a group in your list that uses Smartphones, then you can start adding MMS in your marketing methods. Your Mobile Friendly Website If you have a normal website for your site, you should also have a mobile version of that. There are plugins you can install on your website that are supposed to automatically convert your traditional website into a mobile-friendly one. The problem is search engines like Google don t recognize these plugin modified websites as mobile sites. That is because to these search engines, normal websites and mobile websites are two different entities. Also, the search-behavior of someone online is different from that of someone looking for something using their mobile. A user searching for something on their mobile device is looking Mobile Marketing For Small Business 11

12 for instant gratification. They want to find what they re looking for fast, and they want to get it fast. In other words, mobile users are ready to purchase. So if you want your business to be found by mobile users, then you better have a mobile site set up. Basically, you need to create a sub-domain and put a mobile specific site there. You do this by replacing the www bit with m. For example, your normal website is: Your mobile site should be So what will happen next? When your site recognizes that it is being viewed using a mobile device, it will automatically redirect to your mobile site. What About The Design Of Your Mobile Site? There are good practices to keep in mind when designing your mobile site so it will be userfriendly and gives instant gratification. Keep it quick mobile users are on the go and they don t have a lot of time to enter significant amounts of information. Make your site load fast (compress images) and easy to read (larger copy, bulleted texts). Simplify the navigation your mobile site should not confuse your viewers. If you have a complex site, search functionality will enable your visitors to find what they need easily. Make the site thumb friendly mobile users navigate using their fingers obviously but what you really have to consider is that people have different finger sizes. You have to design your mobile site so that people with larger hands can interact with it with ease: make buttons larger and give them breathing room to avoid or minimize accidental clicks; make text clickable and pad smaller buttons. Mobile Marketing For Small Business 12

13 Make your mobile website easy to read there should be contrast between background and text. The content should fit on screen and readable without zooming or pinching. Your mobile site should be accessible an ideal mobile website works across all mobile platforms and handset orientations. Make it local mobile users look for local information on their phones most of the time so you should include a functionality that lets people find you. Make your website easy to convert make it easy for prospects to buy from you or contact you. Focus on product details and other info that will help conversion; minimize the steps required to complete a sale; keep the forms short; make data entry easier by using scroll menus, lists or check boxes; utilize click-to-call functionality for phone numbers. Check out the following examples of good, clean, user-friendly mobile websites [4] : Mobile Marketing For Small Business 13

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15 Coupons Are A Smart Move Coupons are a smart move IF you have clearly defined objectives that can make them work. Before you start using coupons, you have to make your objectives clear: is it your goal to increase average order size? Reach an audience you wouldn t reach otherwise? Increase your customer base? Encourage referrals? Most of the time you will have an idea of what a good offer will be but you still need to test your campaigns to really know which work best for most of your clients. If you have one or two good ideas for coupon campaigns, then start with that. You don t have to worry about the cost because mobile technology makes split testing your projects easy and cheap. Where you will encounter some challenges is with the redemption part. Mobile Marketing For Small Business 15

16 There are several ways your customers can redeem a coupon: They can present the code on their mobile phone and the cashier gives the discount. They can show the code on their mobile phone, the cashier enters it in the system and gives the discount. This is much better because your tracking is automatically done now. If you have the technology, the cashier can scan the coupon code which is in the form of a barcode (viewed only on a Smartphone). If you opt for this redemption method, you should also have an -to-print functionality for those who don t have a Smartphone. They will receive an of the coupon so they can print it out. The coupons can be downloaded to a reward-program then the customer can use the credit any way they want. Though it s nothing complicated, you need to train your checkout staff to ensure that they know what they are doing and that the process of redemption is smooth. You have to work to avoid a bad checkout experience for your customer so as not to lose them. QR Codes Can Be Handy If QR codes can be really handy if your target audience has Smartphones. Still, not all Smartphone users have installed QR-reader apps. In fact, a very small percentage of Smartphone owners have QR-reader apps on their phones just 6-7%. So unless your target audience has QR-reader apps installed on their Smartphones, QR codes are not a good idea right now. SUMMARY So by now you should already know the potential of using mobile marketing to enhance other marketing strategies, boost brand awareness, increase sales and reach more prospects. There are many aspects to mobile marketing but if you re still learning this route, what we recommend is: Mobile Marketing For Small Business 16

17 1. Create a mobile version of your website ( 2. Utilize SMS marketing to the fullest 3. Use coupons A mobile version of your normal site makes a lot of sense because of the ever-increasing number of Smartphone users. As mentioned earlier, if you want a solid online presence, you have to make your business available in mobile searches as well. Making use of SMS marketing is also a smart move because you can include everybody Smartphone and traditional mobile phone users. SMS marketing is also ideal for direct marketing, building your list of prospects and enhancing other traditional advertising strategies you re already doing. Coupons too are great for attracting new prospects, ensuring repeat sales and building customer loyalty. If you have a well thought out campaign and if you are not afraid of doing test after test, using coupons can really do wonders to your sales. Coupons too can help build your list fast. Now you may be asking: These are all good but how do I start putting these in practice? How do I come up with a dynamic design for a compelling mobile-friendly version of my website? How do I start building a list? [YOU CAN CHANGE/MODIFY THE FOLLOWING TEXT TO SUIT YOUR OFFER] We can do you a mock-up mobile website, customised with all your own branding and demonstrate the power of it to you. Just get in touch, and we'll sort that for you. Contact us at: wendy@iconwebmarketing.com Mobile Marketing For Small Business 17

18 REFERENCES [1] Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users. (Feb. 2012). Retrieved from [2] Laja, P. (2012, May 30). What You Need to Know About Mobile Internet Users and Their Shopping Behavior. Retrieved from Sullivan L. (2011, Nov. 11). Study Analyzes Mobile Search, Buying Behavior In Retail. Retrieved from [3] Image Source: Keywords On Our Shared Short Code. Retrieved from [4] Image Source: 15 Beautiful Examples of Mobile Website Design Done Right. (2011, Nov. 04) Retrieved from Mobile Marketing For Small Business 18